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Weekly New Restaurant Legal Filing Counts: 3 Years of Data

New Restaurant Opening Counts: March 2020 Through April 2023

Restaurantdata.com has tracked new restaurant legal filing activity every week since the COVID shutdowns began in March 2020. The data below covers more than 3 years of weekly opening counts across the U.S., including total raw filings, net verified openings, sit-down vs. counter service splits, and chain vs. independent breakdowns.

📊 Key context: The big drop in new openings began the week of March 26, 2020. Pre-pandemic weekly averages were 900–1,200 with 200–250 new chain locations. Post-pandemic averages settled at 550–650 per week with just 40–65 new chain openings. New chain openings are finally ascending once again as of early 2023.

Weekly Total Raw and Net Verified Opening Counts

Total Raw represents all legal filings captured before vetting. Total Net Issued reflects verified new restaurant openings after removal of duplicates and unconfirmed locations. Data covers the period ending April 30, 2023.

Source: Restaurantdata.com · Legal filing analysis · U.S. markets · March 26, 2020 – April 27, 2023

Week EndingTotal Raw FilingsTotal Net Issued
4/27/20231,218605
4/20/2023688459
4/13/20231,498349
4/6/2023848330
3/30/2023987422
3/23/20231,380462
3/16/2023736454
3/9/20231,000568
3/2/2023772509
2/23/2023504386
2/16/2023910507
2/9/2023408355
2/2/2023826541
1/27/20231,027483
1/19/2023654386
1/12/2023515354
1/5/2023613389
12/22/2022485404
12/15/2022648474
12/8/2022806473
12/1/2022762420
11/17/2022953447
11/10/2022380311
11/3/2022946423
10/27/2022675458
10/20/2022763452
10/13/2022774421
10/8/2022737382
9/29/2022830455
9/22/2022644417
9/15/2022700431
9/8/2022797459
9/1/2022834386
8/25/2022817460
8/18/2022753497
8/11/2022844485
8/4/2022768530
7/28/2022997436
7/21/2022874520
7/7/20221,049538
6/30/20221,067496
6/23/2022902474
6/16/20221,039531
6/9/20221,085445
6/2/2022951495
5/26/20221,047547
5/19/2022874460
5/12/2022891438
5/5/2022941435
4/28/20221,032467
4/21/2022939492
4/14/2022955429
4/7/20221,053527
3/31/2022755485
3/25/20221,045409
3/17/2022896505
3/10/2022960531
3/3/2022962501
2/24/2022941531
2/17/2022977409
2/10/2022647428
2/3/2022650440
1/27/2022828461
1/20/2022935385
1/13/2022699389
1/6/2022812468
12/30/2021797473
12/16/2021854472
12/9/2021938498
12/2/2021867542
11/18/2021678470
11/11/2021808567
11/4/2021870470
10/28/2021850522
10/22/2021812459
10/15/2021970521
10/7/2021713437
9/30/202175459
9/23/2021670463
9/16/2021825523
9/9/2021807503
9/2/2021714413
8/26/2021913567
8/12/2021889521
8/5/20211,132564
7/29/20211,152601
7/22/2021948607
7/15/20211,050550
7/1/2021819520
6/24/2021975619
6/17/2021837553
6/10/2021880513
6/3/20211,417551
5/27/20211,322580
5/20/20211,103520
5/13/20211,294522
5/6/20211,303584
4/29/20211,250524
4/22/20211,130476
4/15/20211,332555
4/8/20211,474564
4/1/20211,085460
3/25/20211,251496
3/18/2021368396
3/11/20211,525569
3/4/20211,216500
2/25/20211,006529
2/18/20211,002472
2/11/20211,851788
2/4/2021624323
1/28/2021736370
1/21/2021484325
1/14/2021880585
1/7/20211,061447
12/31/20201,264438
12/17/20201,226451
12/10/2020771482
12/3/20201,264539
11/19/20201,003513
11/12/2020957605
11/5/2020971613
10/29/2020965495
10/22/20201,080633
10/15/20201,129610
10/8/20201,237630
10/1/2020924518
9/24/20201,006604
9/17/20201,022498
9/10/20201,002467
9/3/20201,056460
8/27/20201,050578
8/20/2020978498
8/13/20201,066577
8/6/20201,158531
7/30/2020992578
7/23/2020724412
7/16/2020958545
7/9/20201,368669
6/25/2020711407
6/18/2020815455
6/11/2020497304
6/4/2020762412
5/28/2020691363
5/21/2020776350
5/14/2020801409
5/7/2020679363
4/30/2020678373
4/23/2020970443
4/16/2020839612
4/9/2020691221
4/2/2020639376
3/26/2020844346

* Total Net Issued reflects verified new restaurant openings after removal of duplicates and unconfirmed locations. The week of 2/11/2021 saw the highest single-week net count in this dataset at 788.

Snapshots of Sit-Down vs. Counter Service — Weekly Breakdown

The table below breaks net verified openings into sit-down (full service) and counter service (fast casual, QSR) categories. Counter service openings grew significantly as a share of total openings post-pandemic.

Week EndingSit-DownCounter Service
4/27/2023411164
4/20/202333494
4/13/202324193
4/6/202323292
3/30/202331491
3/23/2023325124
3/16/2023332110
3/9/2023386152
3/2/2023368132
2/23/202328391
2/16/2023367129
2/9/202327670
2/2/2023377137
1/27/2023321151
3/26/202031129

* Table shows selected weeks. Full dataset available to Restaurantdata.com clients. Note the dramatic shift in the counter service share from just 29 in the week of 3/26/2020 to consistent 90–220 range post-pandemic.

Snapshots Chain vs. Independent Weekly Opening Counts

The table below shows weekly chain store vs. independent opening counts. The shift away from chain openings is clearly visible starting in 2020 and has remained persistent through 2023.

Week EndingChain StoresIndependent Stores
4/27/202357540
4/20/202346389
4/13/202329314
4/6/202325299
3/30/202323385
3/23/202317434
7/9/202093547
3/26/202029286

* Table shows selected weeks for illustration. Full 3-year dataset available to Restaurantdata.com clients. Chain openings ascending again as of early 2023 after multi-year post-pandemic lows.

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Legal filing data on new restaurant openings is issued daily by local municipalities and states. Restaurantdata.com compiles, vets, and delivers verified weekly leads in .CSV or PDF format — chain and independent, sit-down and counter service. Contact us for a free complementary sample.

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